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Old February 20, 2011, 04:07 PM   #1
bob.a
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 15, 2009
Posts: 298
Interesting encounter - advice, please.

I had to get gas last night on the way home from work (2230). Pulled up to pump, started gassing up. A young Hispanic-lloking guy started hanging around, about 10 feet away. Black leather, stomping boots, shoulder-length hair. Never came closer than maybe 8 feet, but never went away. I was at passenger side rear, he controlled access to driver's side door.

I'm 63, out of shape, and on blood thinners, so a violent encounter was going to leave me in a very bad way, and I'm in no shape to run for it.

No cell phone, unarmed except for 3" folding knife; the person manning the gas station was locked into his office for the night; by the time he'd have become aware of the situation, it would have been over.

Options: Douse the guy with gas. But he never got close enough.
Try to ease past him, get in driver's seat: not going to work if he wanted to push the point. And the way he was hanginhg around, just out of reach, made me certain that he had plans involving me, and maybe my vehicle.
Get in passenger side, try to lock car and crawl into driver's seat. Awkward, and if I couldn't lock him out I'd be trapped in the car with him.
Lock car with keys and walk away. Possibly work, but not if he was determined. Also hate turning my back on a threat.
Pull the knife and look tough. fine unless he decides to shoot me. No sense precipitating an attack.

I live in Maryland, which means no carry, and work in DC, which means keeping a weapon in the car is likely to make me a ward of the state for a few years. So I'm essentially defenseless. As things worked out, a patrol car happened to drive into the strip mall on the next block as I finished pumping. My young friend, who had been hanging around, pulled a fade.

Had this not happened, I'm uncertain how the situation would have gone down.

Anyone out there have comments or suggestions? I don't like trusting to luck to save my butt.
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